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December 11, 2015

Confession of a Writer Tag!

#asklily Confession of a Writer Tag

I was very happy to be tagged by the lovely Julia Grantham, to do this Confession of a Writer. I enjoyed reading the
Confessions and I feel honored to be asked to continue it. The Confessions tag
was started by Nicolette at A Little Bookish, A Little Writerly nicoletteellzie.com/2015/10/02/the-confessions-of-a-writertag/

When did you first start writing?

Was being a writer something you
always aspired to be?

I started to write ten years ago because of long-term
Unemployment. Writing "Destination:
Freedom", the first part of my memoir and trilogy was primary kind of
a self-therapy. I always felt that it is my duty to talk about the topic “War-Refugee” because so many people
have NO CLUE about it. When I published the book in 2014 and started the
promotion in 2015, I couldn’t predict that the Refugee topic would become a global issue and divide the entire world
as it did and still does.

And NO, I never ever thought I would become a writer.
From young age on drawing, graphic design and the TV & Film industry were
my passion, but not Books.

What genre do you write?

Meanwhile I have published eight
books on Amazon. The two parts of my trilogy “Destination: Freedom” and “Definition
of Freedom” are memoirs. I have two
Song lyric Books with more than 46 lyrics that are patiently waiting to be
discovered by amazingly talented composers and voices to be shout out in the
world and four children’s books.

Obviously my memoir is non-fiction. But even my children’s books that
are a mix of non-fiction and fiction are always based on true events. The same
with my song lyrics that are messages from the heart based on real events and
experiences.

Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did
you start working on this Project?

Right now I’m working on the third and last part of my trilogy, my
memoir “Definition of Love” and the second part of my children’s book “Monsieur
Jac travelling Europe”. The Adventure of Monsieur Jac Couture, Lily and
her mum continues. I can’t work only on one project. I need the change. Working on a memoir
is emotionally very challenging. Working on my children’s book gives me the creative
balance that I need because I do the Illustrations myself with the support of
my talented and loving mum Sima. Im working on both titles for the last four months.

What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was
it about?

The first piece that I wrote was the first part of my memoir ten years
ago. Before that I was not into writing at all. I put all my creativity, desires
and feelings in drawing and painting.

What’s the best part about writing?

Everything about writing is exciting. When I work on my memoir I travel
back in time and relive my life. Realizing the mistakes I’ve done is a reminder
to not repeat them again. Appreciating the good moments and memories is
priceless. Reliving the bad times is an eye-opener and makes me be grateful for
what I have overcome and achieved.

And when I work on my children’s books there is no limit for
imagination. I feel and think like a kid. So there is no rule. I’m the creator
and enjoy the writing process as well as the making off the Illustrations.

What’s the worst part about writing?

Nothing about writing is bad. If it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t do it. Life and
reality is hard enough. So I only do things that bring me joy and happiness.
Writing is a good way of escaping from reality and spending your energy,
thoughts, experiences, creativity, feelings, emotions, hopes and passion on
something positive.

What’s the name of your favorite character and why? (This can be from a
book by another author or from your own work. Book crushes are perfectly
acceptable here as well.)

I like this question. My all-time favorite character is without a doubt “Pinocchio” written by Carlo Collodi
from Tuscany Italy. It is a fictional character and the
protagonist of the children's novel “TheAdventures ofPinocchio”. The
best-known of Pinocchio's characteristics is his nose, which grows in length
when he tells a lie. Throughout the work, Collodi chastises Pinocchio for his
lack of moral fiber and his persistent rejection of responsibility and desire
for fun.

Why do I love
Pinocchios character? Because Collodi found a way to entertain and educate children with important
lessons of life. We all have enemies like Pinocchio’s, the Fox and the Cat
- that only have negative intensions and want to harm us for their own benefits.
Life tests us and our conscious daily with horrible people and unexpected difficulties
and obstacles.

As long as I can remember I rejected liars and negative people in my
life. And unfortunately from young age on I learned that not all people feel
the way I do when it comes to honesty and loyalty. The older I get the more I
suffer under Liars, cheaters and two-faced people. Actually I wish the human’s
nose would grow in length and reveal liars in our society. Because it would definitely
make life easier and our world a much better place if everyone was honest and
had a sense for moral and responsibility. Honesty is a gift from God that sadly
not everyone is blessed with.

It’s such a tragedy that Carlo Collodi the writer and
creator of Pinocchio died in Florence in 1890, unaware of the fame and
popularity that awaited his work. Pinocchio has been called an icon of modern
culture and one of the most re-imagined characters in the pantheon of
children's literature.

My goal is to achieve the same with my tiny and super smart snail Monsieur Jac Couture. Right now I’m writing the
second part “Monsieur Jac Couture travels
Europe” and I’m working on developing his character. Monsieur Jac is maturing
like I do daily. I want him to entertain
and educate children like Pinoccio and hopefully one day also become an
Icon. A symbol for deep friendship,
honesty, loyalty, caring, compassion and support. The trustable and loving friend
that every one of us wishes in Life. In the third and fourth book of the series
Monsieur Jac Couture
will fall in Love for the first time and even travel to USA.

How much time a day/week do you get to write?

When is the best time for
you to write (morning or night)?

It really depends on my health. Since I was fourteen I “survive” my life
with heavy migraine attacks. The days where I wake up without migraine I’m very
active and motivated and I can work for hours. Then there are days where I’m
completely incapable. I’m not functioning at all. So writing and creativity are
the last thing on my mind. I’m simply useless and try to survive the day with painkillers.

My best time for working starts between 10:00 in the morning and 4:00 in
the afternoon. I’m absolutely not a night person. Never was and never will be.

Did you go to college for writing?

Or if you haven’t been to college yet,
do you plan to?

No I never took a traditional writing course. I had a short course
during my Public Relation Academic Training. But it was more about writing a
press release and PR concepts etc.

Now I’m actually planning to take a writing class hopefully in the near
future. Not for Book writing though. Because to be honest, I feel that good
writing comes from the heart. Like everything else that is produced creatively.
Whether it’s an artwork, a song lyric or a book. You can’t learn it. You either
have it or you don’t. There are for sure technics that you can learn but that
is not relevant to me.

I’m actually thinking about taking a class for script writing. I like to
turn my memoir into a screenplay and I think a script writing course by
professionals and experienced people from the Film Industry would be really
helpful.

I love drawing and painting. Enjoy watching movies and TV shows.
Visiting musicals and live concerts. But most of all traveling. I love to
travel to new countries and doing Sightseeing tours. Visiting historical places
and learning new cultures and meeting new people.

What is the best book you’ve read this year?

I love reading biography from people that I admire or are inspired by. I
was recently in Barcelona and we celebrated my mums round birthday. It was our
first visit to Spain and we both were very impressed. Not only by the beautiful
city, the fabulous weather and the lovely people, but also by the astonishing
work of Antoni Gaudi.So I bought a book
about his life and achievements that I’m reading right now and I’m enjoying it
very much.

What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?

I love movies, especially old classic Hollywood films. Stories that
touches your heart and teaches you about Life and Love, such as movies done by
Billie Wilder. I specially love watching movies that are based on true stories.

I think the last movie that we saw in the Cinema was “Frozen” in Toronto and I loved it. Needless to say that I adore Olafs character. His Enthusiasmus and Optimismus are exceptional. Not
only did we love the Film but also the Cinemas you have in the US and Canada. The European
Cinemas are nothing like that. So we prefer to watch movies on DVD at home with
homemade popcorn! :-)

What is your favorite book or series of all time?

I just looked at my book shelve and it is hard to say which one I love
the most. I love them all for different reasons. Because depending on what it
is about and when and where I bought it, they all remind me of a certain time
and memories in my life.

I either learned something or I was inspired by them. It’s like asking a
mother, who’s your favorite kid? A mother can’t answer this question. A mother
loves all her kids the same. Do you know what I mean? I’m such a loyal person
that I even care about the feelings of my books. :-)

One book though is very precious to me. Because my mum gave it to me on my
20 Birthday. It is the biography and full collection of Salvatore Dali’sLife &Artwork. It is a huge and expensive collector book
that I truly treasure and love.

Who is your favorite author?

Sorry, I don’t have a favorite Author like I don’t have a favorite book.
I admire and respect all Authors as well as all creative people in general.
Imagine our world without Authors, musicians, composers, singers, film makers,
actors and artists! It would be such a boring and uninspiring place to live.

Every single human being that is gifted with talent and shares it with
the world is a blessing for all of us and the next generations.

What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?

Well 2015 is coming soon to an end and it was a very productive year for
me. I was fully and 100% committed and focused on writing and promoting my
books.

I promoted my first memoir “Destination:
Freedom”in the UK and
have enjoyed strong media exposure and public interest. Placements included two
features with national newspaper the Daily Mirror as well as interviews with
popular lifestyle websites Female First and Frost Magazine. A review on Lovereading.co.uk – the UK’s most
visited book recommendation website – praised the memoir as a "frank, powerful and thought-provoking true-life-story".

In 2015 I published the second
part of my trilogy “Definition of Freedom” and four children’s books “Angel of Hope & Lily”, “Angel of Love & Lily”, “Peanut & Lily” and “Little Lily”.

Since there is no chance for me at the job market in the field of PR and
Marketing, I will continue my writing and put all my energy and focus on my
passion. Thanks to Amazon I will publish more books. Being a Selfpublished Author, translater, Illustrater, Webpublisher, Blogger and Socialmedia Agent all in ONE has become a full time Job anyway.

I will also work on my musical and
film production plans for my memoir. I want to bring more awareness about delicate
and unpleasant topics in our society such as (Refugees, discrimination, Unemployment, depression, bullying,
emotional and sexual harassment and more) but also spread hope and love for
young and adult.

My recent achievements with my three
song lyrics at the UK Songwriting
Contest2015 certainly encouraged
me to write more song lyrics and continue my goal which is to Entertain & Educate people with a musical
show “Angel of Hope” based on my
memoir.

I will also try everything in my power to stock my book titles in traditional bookshops which seems to be a
huge challenge so far. But I don’t give up easily. I have no other choice than
to keep on trying and hoping for the support of book stores to be able to
become hopefully one day soon an Author who can actually live and exist fully from
writing.

I’m a nominated Multi-Genre Author, Blogger, Artist and Publisher. I’m the Author of “Destination: Freedom” and eleven more titles. With my honest memoir I have enjoyed strong media exposure and public interest during the refugee crises in summer 2015. Placements included two features with national newspaper the Daily Mirror as well as interviews with popular British lifestyle websites Female First and Frost Magazine. I had to fight against injustice, prejudice, discrimination and social isolation for almost three decades to become who I am today. An Independent Publisher and Author with the goal to entertain and educate readers about important and eye-opening topics in our society. Check out my seasonal Free blogger magazine “Read My Mind” on my website! Social media contacts: Website: www.lilyamis.com – www.nasSima-design.com, LilyAmis.blogspot.com, nasSimadesign.blogspot.com, Twitter: @nassimadesign and @ReadMyMindMag, Youtube: sndesign2011, Facebook: @LilyAmisAuthor and @ReadMyMindMagazine. Visit my store: www.society6.com/nassimadesign.

7 comments:

Lily, this is the most beautiful, honest blog I have ever read. You touched my soul & brought tears to my eyes. I am sending you my love & best wishes for a Huge success! You deserve it: you are talented, honest, & awesome! I am honored to have you as a friend.

So sorry to hear about your history of migraines - that sucks! But I can't help feeling that you would never have become a writer if it wasn't for them, and the world would've missed out on something special and unique that is you!

I'm afraid I can't agree with your 'Don’t care about spelling, punctuation and grammar!', because I feel a writer should express themselves in the most readable way possible, but your other advice, 'Write from your heart and touch peoples soul' is spot on!

Also, I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea that people's noses grow every time they lie. OMG that would be brilliant! I can see a world full of long noses :-D I've also suffered from the lies of a particularly compulsive liar, who always seems to have got away with it - I'd love for everyone to be able to see how often truth eludes him! Lol. If I had magic, this would be a spell I'd cast :-D

Annelisa thank you so much for your lovely comment. I’m happy to hear that you loved my confession. :-) Yes, Living with Migraines truly sucks! It is hell. I actually will write about it in one of my upcoming posts.

You're obviously right about the Spelling, punctuations and grammar. Trust me I’m a perfectionist. But when you pay for script polishing done by professionals and receive your script back and still find errors, it just comes to a point where you have to let it go and accept that nothing is 100% perfect. I have to mention that I have to do it in two languages. German and English. And the German grammar is a nightmare. Lol.

By the way your comment inspired me to do a drawing of Pinocchio surrounded by all International politicians with a long nose! Lol. :-)

So sorry to hear about your experience with a liar. Unfortunately finding honesty in our society has become almost impossible. Lying has become a horrible habit and people just don’t care anymore about the consequences and the pain they cost others! :-(